In Memory of Remus Lupin
by MoonytheMarauder1
Summary: Harry speaks at a ceremony celebrating Remus' life.


**A/N: Please tell me what you guys think. It doesn't have to be praise. ;) Enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the wonderful world of Harry Potter. All rights go to J. K. Rowling.**

 **In Memory of Remus Lupin:**

Harry nervously fidgeted with his red tie. He was in a large auditorium in the Ministry of Magic. Witches and wizards were here to celebrate one of the bravest men Harry had ever known. At least, that was the idea. The reality, though, was that most of the people in attendance were only there because Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One, the Vanquisher of the Dark Lord, would be speaking at the ceremony.

The thought made him livid.

He fiddled with the sleeves of his dress robes, and felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned slightly to see Ron standing there, giving him a small smile. "It's almost time, mate." he said gently. "Let's go find our seats."

Harry looked at the ground crossly. "Hardly any of them came for him. It's an insult to his memory."

Ron sighed. "I know, mate. It makes me mad, too. But I also know that it would mean the world to him that you came, and that we're doing this. He wouldn't care about anybody else."

Harry gave him a shaky smile. "You're right."

The two of them took their seats with the Weasley family and the remainder of the Order, who had all come to pay their respects. Kingsley walked onto the stage. Harry gripped Ginny's hand, and Mr. Weasley put a hand on Harry's shoulder.

Kingsley cleared his throat. "Witches and wizards. I am, as I am sure you know, your temporary Minister of Magic. We are gathered here today to celebrate a very brave and noble wizard, whose contributions to the Order changed the course of the war. I knew him personally, and I'm sure a lot of you at least knew of him- whether you went to school with him, a former coworker, or a friend. And a good friend of his is here today to honor him. Please welcome, Harry Potter."

There was a sudden, ears-splitting applause. There were shouts and whistles, and cameras flashing. Everyone was trying to get a glimpse of him. But Harry felt frozen in his seat. All they wanted was to see him. They should be here to honor the man who wasn't supposed to leave.

Mr. Weasley looked at him a little sadly. Teddy was gurgling in his lap. Carefully as to not disturb Teddy, Mr. Weasley leaned over to Harry. "Make them remember him."

Harry nodded, took a deep breath, and walked onto the stage, taking over from Kingsley.

"You all know me," Harry began. He was interrupted by cheers that only made him angry. "That's enough of that, thanks," he shouted. Eventually, the crowd quieted. "As I was saying," Harry started again. "You all know me. But we're here for a man who many of you do not know, who was like an uncle to me. The first thing you need to know about him is that he was a werewolf."

Muttering broke out among the crowd, but Harry spoke over the din. "Yes, a werewolf. And he was like family to me. He was bitten when he was only four years old, by none other than Fenrir Greyback. It wasn't an accident.

"Because of his condition, he thought he'd never be allowed to attend Hogwarts. But Albus Dumbledore was headmaster, and he heard about my friend's condition. Dumbledore personally went to his house to inform him that as long as certain measures were taken, there was no reason he wouldn't be able to go to school.

"So the man went. He soon proved to be a very gifted and powerful wizard, who was, unfortunately, suffering from lycanthropy. He quickly made the best friends he'd ever have, however- Peter Pettigrew, who would later betray him, Sirius Black, my godfather, and my father, James Potter." Harry let that sink in for a moment. Then he barrelled on. "At first, the man kept his condition from his friends, in fear that they'd leave him if they ever found out what he was. But his friends were clever, persistent, and more than a little nosy, and they figured it out in their second year.

"Instead of turning away from him like he had feared, they vowed to find a way to make his transformations more bearable. All three became illegal Animagi so they could accompany him on the full moon. The wolf did not attack them in animal form, and they managed to keep this secret from everyone.

"The man graduated Hogwarts as the First War was brewing, with some of the highest N.E.W.T. scores Hogwarts has ever seen." Harry paused. "Actually, they may be the highest- I'm not sure, you may need to ask Hermione Granger, she knows." Hermione blushed, but smiled at Harry as a couple people chuckled.

Harry pressed on. "He immediately joined the Order with his friends, and fought valiantly against Voldemort's forces. However, Peter Pettigrew had betrayed his friends and the Order, and became a Death Eater, giving Voldemort some important Order secrets. The Order quickly discovered that someone was leaking information, but they wrongly suspected the only werewolf in their numbers. This allowed Pettigrew to become my parents' Secret Keeper, and betray them, resulting in their deaths." Harry drew in a shaky breath. "He then framed my godfather, Sirius Black, and Sirius was sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban. Pettigrew escaped, using his Animagus powers to hide.

"My friend spent many years alone, struggling to keep jobs that were well under his level of ability, due to his full moon absences. Then, Dumbledore changed his life again, inviting him to become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts." Harry grinned fondly at the memory. "You can ask any of his students- he was the best Defense professor we've ever had. Maybe one of the best professors. Everyone loved him. But then Pettigrew made a reappearance." His grin fell. "And my friend rushed after my friends and I, to finally confront Pettigrew and Sirius. He and Sirius convinced my friends and I that Sirius was, in fact, innocent. Pettigrew escaped that night, though- and his lycanthropy became public knowledge. He felt that he had to resign from his post, and left Hogwarts. Shortly after, the Order of the Phoenix was re-established. He joined, but later, in a battle in the Department of Mysteries, Sirius was killed." Harry's voice broke. "Later, he fell in love with a young Auror named Nymphadora Tonks. My friend believed that he couldn't give her what she needed, and volunteered to go on dangerous missions to try and discourage her feelings towards him. Then he went to spy on one of the werewolf packs, and tried to bring some of them over to our side.

"When Dumbledore died later in the year, Tonks confronted him about her feelings for him, literally shaking him, and he tried to convince her that he wasn't what she needed. I'm not sure when, exactly, he gave in to his feelings, but by the end of that summer, they were married.

"They were in love. Then Tonks found out she was pregnant, and my friend panicked, fearing that he had passed on his lycanthropy to an innocent child. He and I argued about it. I'm not sure what I said that changed his mind, but he went back to Tonks, ready to raise his kid, and retired from Order work for a while.

"I didn't see him until many months later." Harry beamed as he spoke of that day. "I've never seen him so happy. He looked ten years younger. He entered the cottage I was hiding in, exclaiming 'It's a boy!'. He walked straight towards me and asked me to be godfather to his son." Harry's voice cracked and he tried not to get too emotional. "I said yes, of course. That's him, over there. Teddy." he pointed at his godson, and everyone craned their necks to get a better look. "Just a short month later, he joined in the fight at the Battle of Hogwarts.

"He was out of practice, they told me. Antonin Dolohov killed him in a duel."

There was a shocked silence, and Harry could see many tearstained faces- some he recognized, some he didn't. He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Tonks had left Teddy with his grandmother because she couldn't stand the thought of leaving her husband alone to fight a battle. She may have been a Hufflepuff, but she shared his Gryffindor bravery. Tonks was also killed in the battle. I remember seeing them in the Great Hall. It looked as though they had just fallen asleep. But I knew better."

Harry took a moment to control himself. "He saved lives. He was an outcast, a werewolf, a Marauder-" Harry watched as George's head snapped up. " -a teacher, a husband, and a father. He was one of the bravest, and _kindest_ men I have ever met. He was a hero. And we're here today to posthumously award Remus Lupin the Order of Merlin, First Class, for his work in the war effort- the first werewolf to ever receive this honor, and one of the men most deserving of it."

Harry walked back to his seat as Kingsley addressed the crowd. "Truer words have never been spoken. Well done, Harry. Remus, if you can hear me, know that you deserve it. And that you are greatly missed. Would anyone like to say anything?"

Harry held his breath. This was the moment of truth. Would they still insult Remus? Or would they finally see him as how he was meant to be seen?

To Harry's surprise, George stood up. Kingsley nodded to him. George held his wand to his temple. Harry wasn't sure what he did, but suddenly, a scene was unfolding in front of the audience.

" _So, Remus," George said. "There a reason you look so… nervous? In Sirius' lovely kitchen?"_

 _Remus was pacing. "I- I'm worried about your father." he admitted quietly._

 _George sat up straighter. "Why?"_

 _Remus suddenly grinned. "You're mother didn't seem to happy with him. About the stitches, I mean."_

 _George laughed._

 _Remus said, "They've been up there a long time. I'm afraid Molly may have done irreparable damage."_

 _George grinned. "Are you ever gonna get chewed out by your woman?"_

 _Remus raised an eyebrow. "What woman?"_

 _George's smile grew wider. "Why, Tonks, of course."_

 _Remus looked surprised. "Why, we're not-"_

" _Not yet, you're not." George interrupted. "But soon."_

 _Remus shrugged. "If you say so."_

" _I do."_

 _Remus gave him a sly look. "Should I tell you that I know some Extendable Ears made it past Molly's purge?"_

 _George blanched. "How'd you know that?"_

 _Remus grinned. "You can't put anything past me."_

The memory faded away.

There was a silence. Then Mrs. Weasley stood up. Her memory soon replaced her son's.

 _Remus and Tonks were dancing in the living room of Grimmauld Place. Waltzing. Well, Remus was waltzing. Tonks was stepping on him. Both were oblivious to Mrs. Weasley watching in the doorway._

" _Sorry!" yelped Tonks for the hundredth time._

 _Remus laughed. "No worries."_

 _Tonks groaned. "You aren't going to have any toes left, by the time the song's over."_

" _I don't mind."_

" _Why not?"_

" _I like dancing with you."_

" _I'm falling all over you."_

" _Exactly. You know how to make a bloke feel needed, nursing all your wounds."_

 _She laughed. "I'm glad you don't mind a few bruises of your own."_

" _I'm just glad you're comfortable enough around me to bruise me."_

 _They laughed._

The memory ended.

One by one, people sent memories for everyone's viewing pleasure. There were memories of Remus with Tonks, laughing with Sirius, his many Marauder misadventures, scenes from both wars, and even a few of Remus and Teddy. Finally, there was a silence. No one moved. Kingsley was about to continue when Fleur stood up, sending up the last memory.

 _Fleur was sitting at the kitchen table in Grimmauld Place. Remus was sitting across from her. Fleur looked very put out, and Remus was grasping one of her hands in his._

" _I- I just don't understand." She sniffed. "Why must zere be a war? What does all zis death and bloodshed solve?"_

 _Remus looked her square in the eye. "Nothing."_

 _Fleur threw her hands up in the air. "Zen why are we doing zis?"_

" _Voldemort has shown that he does not care how many people die before he reaches his goal. We fight back so he can't ruin our world. We fight to build a world in which are children can grow up safely, where they can live a better life." Remus told her soothingly._

 _Fleur's lip trembled. "What if we don't make it out?" she whispered._

 _Remus gave her a sad smile. "Then the strength we leave behind we will give to the people still fighting."_

 _Fleur looked away from him. "Did you feel stronger after your friends died?"_

 _Remus did not flinch. "Yes. I didn't know it at the time, but the stories of their lives, the fact that they had enough courage to die for this cause, gave me the courage to do the same."_

 _Fleur looked startled. "But- don't you believe zat you will live through zis?"_

 _Remus shrugged. "I can't say for sure. But... out of the Marauders, I'm the only one left alive. And nothing could ever keep us apart for long. Why should death be any different? I think it's very possible I won't make it out alive. But I may. It could be another twenty years before I'm reunited with my friends. But I know this- if I die in this war, it will be fighting for a better future for all those who come after me. And who knows? Maybe if I fight hard enough, I can cancel out the bad name Greyback has given my kind. Maybe I can give future werewolves a better shot than I had."_

 _Fleur grasped his hands. "I know you will."_

 _Remus smiled. "Nothing would make me happier."_

Fleur collapsed into fresh sobs, and that sent off Mrs. Weasley. The two women clutched each other tightly, Bill and Mr. Weasley each holding their wife's hand.

Silently, Kingsley raised his wand. A shiny, golden plaque was conjured from midair, with the words _Remus John Lupin, Order of Merlin, First Class (March 10, 1960- May 2, 1998)_.

That's when Harry let the tears fall. He took Teddy from Mr. Weasley and held him tight, as Kingsley attached the plaque to the wall behind him.

No one in the room protested.

Harry was pleased. They knew him now. Not as Remus Lupin the werewolf, but as Remus Lupin the hero.

"That's your dad, Teddy." he whispered to him godson.

Teddy looked at him with big eyes. His turquoise hair, was frequently changing, just like his mother's did. But Teddy never changed his natural eye color.

Remus' amber.

Harry cried harder.


End file.
